From Bhupen Goswami
Guwahati: The Assam government has established relations with Israel for cooperation in the field of agriculture. Israeli Ambassador to India Dr. Ron Malka met Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday and discussed various aspects of cooperation on agriculture sector between Israel and Assam. In his speech, Ambassador Dr. Ron Malka said that India and Israel are one of the perfect matches where both countries complement each other. Even in the fight against epidemic coronavirus, both India and Israel fought together. He has welcomed the Indo-Israeli partnership with the inauguration of the Centre of Excellence in Assam.
Talking to the correspondent, Israeli Ambassador Dr. Ron Malka said Monday that we are talking to the Government of India about tripartite cooperation-agriculture, technology, water. The combination of 3 countries is for the benefit of three parties. To normalize bilateral relations, Israel and the United Arab Emirates signed the landmark agreement at a White House ceremony on September 15. Meanwhile, Ambassador of Israel Dr. Ron Malka said that Tel Aviv had proposed a tripartite cooperation between Israel, UAE-India and has accepted India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The whole world is reeling under the corona virus and is yet to be treated. Every country is engaged in an effort to make vaccines. Meanwhile, Israel has claimed that it has made a vaccine and is now researching its production. Israeli Ambassador to India Dr. Ron Malka said that we will share it with the world. The Corona crisis has brought India and Israel closer, says Dr. Ron Malka, Ambassador of Israel to India. At the moment, both the countries are sharing their information and facilities about the coronavirus with each other. He further said that coronavirus vaccine is the first priority for all friendly countries including India and will be given to India first.
However, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the first Gulf country to establish relations with Israel. In addition, uae has become the third Arab country after Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994) to move towards establishing relations with Israel. Kosovo is the first Muslim-majority country to open its embassy in Jerusalem. Israel is confident of a renewed foreign policy change at the global level. Israeli Ambassador Dr. Ron Malka spoke of the first direct commercial flight between the UAE and Israel and said how spectacular Israel’s “ecosystem” is. Regarding a free trade agreement (FTA) with India which is still at an extremely early stage, Ambassador Malka said that we are trying to encourage our allies in the Asia Pacific region to invest in India and import and export with us. The FTA with Korea is soon at an advanced stage with China and Vietnam. We expect an FTA for a designated trade agreement with India. Israel is in an advanced stage of negotiations with China and already has an agreement with India for specific goods. Speaking on the issue of low tariff rates, Ambassador Dr. Ron Malka said the most advanced FTA is with Korea. Next year in 2021,we are looking at China and Vietnam. With India, it is not yet on the advanced stage. Now, 200 products have been identified which are important for India and Israel. Meanwhile, on the recent border tension between India and China, Dr. Malka said that we have very good relations with India, we also have good relations with China. We try to have good relations with everyone in Asia. He expressed hope that the tension will be resolved peacefully and the tension will be reduced, that is our desire. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Sonowal said after a meeting at his official residence in Khargauli Guwahati that today is a historic day for Assam as we tie up with Israel for cooperation in the field of agriculture. Dr. Malka has also laid the foundation stone of Indo-Israel Centre of Excellence for protected cultivation of vegetables. The Chief Minister of Assam thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for promoting India-Israel relations. “I express my gratitude to PM Modi for taking India-Israel relations to new heights, which would not be possible without his visionary leadership,” Sonowal said. Chief Minister Sonowal also dr. Held a meeting with an Israeli delegation led by Ron Malka. Agriculture Minister Atul Bora, Chief Minister’s legal and media advisor Shantanu Bharali and Cardiesh Goswami, MP Queen Ojah, MLA Atul Bora were also present at the meeting.
